PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Each outing since Bruce Rondon worked on his mechanics during a side session has been a step in the right direction.

On Friday, 14 of his 15 pitches were fastballs, but he threw strikes consistently. On Monday, he mixed in his offspeed pitches, but he didn't have good command of anything but his fastball.

On Thursday, it all came together for the rookie right-hander.

Rondon threw his fastball effectively, got two swings-and-misses with his slider, got a called strike with an offspeed pitch and, for the first time this spring, challenged a hitter with fastballs inside.

"Before, I didn't have the control I wanted with my pitches," Rondon said through an interpreter. "I've been
feeling a lot better every time out, so today I kind of mixed pitches
outside and inside."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland took a bit of a cautious approach after the game, but he did say Rondon has not looked better at any point this spring.

"It was obviously his best outing, but the regulars weren't in there, so you take from it what you see," Leyland said. "I liked it because he threw some sliders for strikes around the plate."

Rondon threw 12 pitches, eight for strikes, and threw first-pitch strikes to two of the three batters he faced. He said his slider was the best it has been this spring and that he tried to mix his pitchers better since it was the third time he was facing the Mets.

Here is how the ninth inning went for Rondon:

Rondon threw three pitches, all strikes, to leadoff hitter Collin Cowgill, who grounded out to shortstop on an 0-2 fastball.

Brian Bixler took a 97-mph fastball for a first-pitch strike, swung and missed at a 1-1 slider and couldn't check his swing in time while striking out on a 2-2 slider. Both the called balls Rondon threw to Bixler were 99-mph fastballs inside.

Jamie Hoffman was the only batter to get ahead of Rondon, who started Hoffman off with a low offspeed pitch and a high fastball. But Hoffman swung and missed at a 96-mph fastball before flying out to right field on a 2-1 pitch to end the game.

The inside pitches Rondon threw to Bixler were arguably as important as the swing-and-miss sliders. Hitters in the big leagues can hit fastballs if they are out over the plate, but when pitchers give hitters something to think about with inside heat, well, it changes the game.